An unusual case came before Israel’s Supreme Court this week after a Palestinian Arab man undergoing conversion and married to a Jewish former Israeli citizen from Ofra, was arrested in a village near Hebron without a warrant or explanation.
According to i24 News reporter Avishai Grinzaig, the detainee’s wife said she too was given no clarification by soldiers at the scene. His health deteriorated in custody and he was transferred to hospital in handcuffs, after which his wife could no longer locate him.
The detainee was also not allowed to speak to a lawyer. A petition was subsequently filed, demanding that he be released or brought before a judge.
During the hearing, Justice Noam Sohlberg discovered that no investigative body had actually requested the man’s arrest. He was released following the hearing.
In his ruling, Justice Sohlberg wrote: "In light of what was written in the authorization to release the petitioner from detention... that the petitioner was 'brought to detention without the request of any investigative body,' the respondent's attorneys are requested to submit a detailed statement outlining the sequence of events."
The IDF stated that during operations in the village, a tunnel was found beneath the detainee’s home, but did not explain why he was arrested without a warrant or investigative request.
The suspect, however, claimed it was not a tunnel but a sewage pit dug with approval from the as-Samu municipality, noting that such pits exist in many homes in the area due to the lack of running water.
Speaking to Haaretz after his release, the man said his arrest was likely orchestrated by a villager who falsely accused him in order to retaliate for the suspect marrying a Jewish woman and speaking openly in the village in favor of Israel.
“In the village they call me ‘the Jew,’ because I am proud of Israel and have no problem with Israelis,” he said. “This man met me in the village and said I would get ‘a blow I’ve never received in my life.’ Two days later, army and police forces came after me.”
His wife added that the two had met on TikTok and married a few years later in Jordan. In her opinion, his detention is part of a vendetta by local residents against him.